“I’m Not Fucking Playing Khan!” Cumberbatch Declares

Okay, so he wasn’t as emphatic as all that, but he’s definitely doubling down on the John Harrison identity, promising that he plays John Harrison and nobody but John Harrison and certainly not the guy all the Trek nerds have been talking about the past few weeks.

“I play a character called John and not that other name. It’s interesting. Speculation is speculation and that’s all fun.

I play John Harrison who’s a terrorist and an extraordinary character in his own right. He’s somebody who is not your two-dimensional cookie cutter villain. He’s got an extraordinary purpose, and I hope that at one point or other in the film you might even sympathize with the reasons he’s doing what he’s doing — not necessarily the means and the destruction he causes. But it was a great ride, not just because he’s the bad guy and the antagonist but also because he has a purpose and it’s hard not to see his point of view at certain points.”

It’s amazing how trained we are by reboots and franchises that it seems outrageous that Cumberbatch could merely be playing an original character without reference to some canon detail. That said, this is fucking Star Trek, the canon of all canons. Self-reflective storylines and interweaving strands are the bread and butter, so the obsession at least has some merit behind it.

So, is this an under-JJ-orders heap of bullshit, or can we finally accept the fact that maybe these guys have something more interesting up their sleeves? Perhaps all these little nods and Khan-alluding tidbits that people are picking up on are evidence the film will establish the grand villain for a third film? Ultimately I’m not the guy to speculate on all this, even if I will say I don’t think these are outright lies.

The interview is at Access Hollywood, and in it ole Ben discusses his disinterest in the Star Trek films and how he eventually came around.

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